PNS | DEHRADUN
The State government has decided to increase the fleet of 108 ambulance services in Uttarakhand. A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the officers of the health department chaired by health minister Dhan Singh Rawat on Wednesday.
In the meeting he directed the officers of the department to strengthen the 108 emergency ambulance service in the State. Rawat said that the response time of the service should be reduced. He directed that the response time of ambulances in the mountainous areas should be 18 to 20 minutes while in the plain areas it should be 15 minutes. He said that the exact location of the ambulance service should be provided to the people by installing a tracking system on the ambulances.
On a stern note, the minister warned that a penalty will be imposed on the service provider if the ambulances arrive later than the response time. He directed that strict action should also be taken against the ambulance staff for misbehaving with the patients and their relatives. Rawat informed that the fleet of the ambulances will be increased to 334 from existing 272. He also asked the officers to ensure that backup ambulances are kept in the districts. The minister asked the officers of the department to bring in effective reforms in the 108 ambulance services in order to make it more credible among the general public.
The officiating director general of health services Dr Sunita Tamta, director health Dr Manoj Upreti and other officers of State health department attended the meeting.
